Realistic barrel life of .243 Winchester?

[Scout21]

Well, lets do the math. If you are just deer hunting with it you may shoot 10 rnds a season with it, including making sure scope is still on. And two or three MOA is plenty accurate for deer, IMHO. Most states only allow one deer. So, If you are 20 yrs old and plan on shooting deer until you are 70 you will need 500 rounds for it. You don't need to worry about what bbl will last the longest. You need to figure out how you are going to live to be 200 yrs old to outlive the life of any bbl. And by then they will have figured out how to take all our guns away anyway. Have a nice day Sir.

I'll almost certainly be shooting more than 10 rounds a year. For that matter just about any deer cartridge will be 2-3 inch accurate for 500 rounds.

 

[Zak Smith]

Is 1200 rounds using it as a match rifle? I won't be using it for match purposes.

You asked what is realistic barrel life of .243. In this context, barrel life means the accurate barrel life, or the number of rounds the barrel shoots more-or-less its best (or to an "acceptable" level of accuracy). This end of this period comes when there is a marked decrease in accuracy. Doesn't matter if it's a match rifle or not.

In my case, it went from better than 0.5 MOA to "lucky to stay on a pie plate at 200".

 

[LoonWulf]

I'll almost certainly be shooting more than 10 rounds a year. For that matter just about any deer cartridge will be 2-3 inch accurate for 500 rounds.

I don't remember if you ever said, but how many rounds a year do you THINK youll shoot. 100-200-500?

Even at 500 a year, and using the general numbers given youll get 3 years +/- out of the average .243 barrel.

Even if springing for a carbon barrel and installation, your still looking at about 300-350 bucks a year in "barrel rent"......and 500-750 dollars a year in ammo....

 

[Scout21]

I don't remember if you ever said, but how many rounds a year do you THINK youll shoot. 100-200-500?

Even at 500 a year, and using the general numbers given youll get 3 years +/- out of the average .243 barrel.

Even if springing for a carbon barrel and installation, your still looking at about 300-350 bucks a year in "barrel rent"......and 500-750 dollars a year in ammo....

I guess I didn't include an estimated round count. Ideally I'd put around 100 rounds through it a year to maintain proficiency.

 

[Varminterror]

I guess I didn't include an estimated round count. Ideally I'd put around 100 rounds through it a year to maintain proficiency.

You’ll get around 10 years of stable service before anything at all changes. Then you’ll lose a little speed, cleaning and purging copper will keep you very near your original groups, and then by about 15 years, your original groups will likely have doubled. Depreciating over 20yrs, you will have spent around $100/yr on ammo and $30yr on barrel life, and total cost per annum at your 20 year mark, starting with a $3000 build and replacing one $300 blank with $300 in threading and chambering cost, plus 2000rnds of reloaded ammo at $1/round, you’ll be in it for $280/yr, and if you’re still hunting it, you’ll have a rifle shooting like new, or if you pass it on at that point, the heir will have a rifle shooting like new…

Comparatively, I’m pretty certain I spent more on Oreos and Snickers, annually, than $280, so…

Build the rifle you want in the cartridge you want, replace the barrel when it needs it.

 

[LoonWulf]

Build the rifle you want in the cartridge you want, replace the barrel when it needs it.

and have a Snickers.....everyone needs a Snickers.....im gonna go steal dads Snickers.......

 

[Bcwitt]

If you fire it a lot when it is hot, you can expect more wear, reguardless of caliber or barrel material. If you take time between shots (such as a featherweight) you can expect a longer barrel life, reguardless # of rounds.

 

[kalielkslayer]

So I’m in the load development phase of a .243.

I used 30 factory rounds for barrel break in. Another 40 (10 4 shot groups) to try a couple different powders and learn what velocity the barrel likes.

I have 32 rounds just waiting for a windless day. These are around where it shot best on the initial shooting, with 2 separate OALs.

If the range day is successful, then I’ll shoot 3 more 5 shot groups of what it appears to like best to verify.

Then maybe a 1/2 dozen rounds to get it sighted in at 200.

Then a minimum of 1 5 shot group at 250, 300, 350, 400, 450 and 500.

Best case scenario, I’ll have 150 rounds through the barrel just developing a load. This could easily be 200 or more depending on how the next range session goes.

Given an estimate of a 1,200 round lifespan, I think it’ll last me a long time since it’s primary function is going to be as a Coyote gun.

Based on my initial testing, the gun prefers a load nearly 2 grains below max and I’m using a relatively slow burning powder so maybe barrel life will be more?

But when I do load development, I usually shoot 3 guns, single shot from each gun. This allows the barrel of each to cool for 4-5 minutes between rounds. And then .243 is such a pleasure to shoot, It’ll probably be 1 that tags along often.

I had my barrel, action, rings and mag Cerakoted so if I ever get to the point it starts to lose accuracy, I’ll probably just have the barrel turned down 1 or 2 threads depending on the wear, reamed and threads extended, and start over.

 

[Varminterror]

Based on my initial testing, the gun prefers a load nearly 2 grains below max and I’m using a relatively slow burning powder so maybe barrel life will be more?

Not much. And probably not at all.

I have tried all of these methods to “if you want it to last longer, then ____”:

• “Never shoot it hot.”

• “Use a slower/cooler powder.” (less glycerin)

• “Shoot slower loads/load below max.”

• “Chasing lands as they erode will keep your speed and accuracy.”

• Setting the barrel back is like getting a new barrel.”

None of these common myths have delivered barrel life for me which had me outside of the normal distribution of barrel life I observe for a given cartridge.

The 243win and 6 creed have been my highest volume of shooting, besides 223/5.56, throughout the last two decades, burning more than a barrel per year. Shooting 243win, I expected to start seeing a change in barrel behavior - a change in speed or velocity - somewhere between 750-900 rounds. Shooting 6 creed, I expect to see 1100-1200 rounds when the barrel changed. Yes, throat erosion starts immediately, but the changes take a while to set in.

Loading below max: I tried shooting ~2.5grns below max in one of my 11 6 creed barrels, running almost 400fps below max for that bullet - it yielded my worst barrel life of ALL of the 6 creed barrels I have owned - I started losing speed at 750rnds, when every other barrel I have owned took me to 1100-1200 before losing speed. So shooting lower speed and less powder didn’t improve my barrel life. Contrarily, I had a smith make 3 Bartlein barrels at the same time 4 years ago for my match rifle. All of them had nodes in the same place, same headspace to within 1/2 thou, same lead length within 1/2 thou, but ONE of them shot ~120fps faster with the same load… AND where the other barrels failed at the common 1100-1200rnds, that barrel hung on to between 1400-1500 rounds before it started bleeding speed. Also contrarily, I have shot through handfuls of barrels in 223/5.56 using 27.3grn Varget under 50grn V-maxes (an over-book load) as a practice load for LR shooting as well as go-fast action shooting, and none of those barrels burned out any faster than my barrels which only ate “under book loads.”

Loading a slower/cooler burning powder: I fell for this one multiple times. I tried Retumbo and H1000 in 243win and 243AI, and tried H1000 in 6 Creed trying to pick up barrel life, but didn’t pick up any barrel life.

Not shooting hot: This changes the nature of use for the rifle, which isn’t always possible, AND it does change how long - chronologically - a barrel lives. But I haven’t had luck with this one either. At one point, I had two identical barrels going with flats on the muzzle to be able to change back and forth easily - I used one for practice, and shot slowly, while I used the other for matches. In theory, I hoped I would get more rounds from the slower shot barrel and be able to practice more than I competed, and have the barrels last about the same TIME. No such luck. Equally, I had a couple of 243win, 22-250, and 7-08 barrels which I used for hunting and pleasure plinking, NOT getting hot, and despite lasting for YEARS longer, the total round count when the barrels changed was still within the same range I expected for my higher rate barrels. I absolutely abused one of my 22-250s over pdog towns in Nebraska, I’d burn 300-500 rounds in a day of shooting a few times per summer, and those barrels didn’t really burn out with any less rounds than my coyote calling rifle which took a decade to cross over 2000 rounds… just less TIME. Neither my first 6 creed and my current 6 creed specialty pistol were shot fast and hot, but they burned out in the same number of rounds (throat’s moving at the same rate in my pistol, it ain’t dead yet).

Chasing lands: In theory, keeping the bullet the same jump should introduce the same and create the same primary ignition spike, but I haven’t been able to hang on past normal barrel life here. I’ve done much better just shooting very forgiving bullets - like the 105 Hybrid - which has produced phenomenal precision for me from 5 thou to 140 thou.

Setting back barrels: don’t be mislead into thinking setting back will mean you reset your barrel life round counter. I’ve largely given up in setting back barrels. I’ve seen a lot of guys talk about setting back and then getting HALF again the barrel life back, but in the few times I’ve done it, a guy needs to do that set back BEFORE the barrel really starts changing… so maybe if I set back a 6 creed barrel at 1000, not 1200, I’d get 600 more, totaling 1600. So then I pay an extra $250-300 for the setback job, meaning I have $900 total into 1600 rounds… but I can put $1200 into 2400 rounds… so the cost per barrel life is MORE if I set it back than if I simply replace it. At best, a break even on price, and I have to remove the barrel more often…

The ONLY way I have found to reliably make barrels last longer is to reduce the cartridge case size or increase bullet diameter - in both cases, meaning SHOOT A DIFFERENT CARTRIDGE AND TOLERATE LESSER PERFORMANCE.

 

[Bcwitt]

Not much. And probably not at all.

I have tried all of these methods to “if you want it to last longer, then ____”:

• “Never shoot it hot.”

• “Use a slower/cooler powder.” (less glycerin)

• “Shoot slower loads/load below max.”

• “Chasing lands as they erode will keep your speed and accuracy.”

• Setting the barrel back is like getting a new barrel.”

None of these common myths have delivered barrel life for me which had me outside of the normal distribution of barrel life I observe for a given cartridge.

The 243win and 6 creed have been my highest volume of shooting, besides 223/5.56, throughout the last two decades, burning more than a barrel per year. Shooting 243win, I expected to start seeing a change in barrel behavior - a change in speed or velocity - somewhere between 750-900 rounds. Shooting 6 creed, I expect to see 1100-1200 rounds when the barrel changed. Yes, throat erosion starts immediately, but the changes take a while to set in.

Loading below max: I tried shooting ~2.5grns below max in one of my 11 6 creed barrels, running almost 400fps below max for that bullet - it yielded my worst barrel life of ALL of the 6 creed barrels I have owned - I started losing speed at 750rnds, when every other barrel I have owned took me to 1100-1200 before losing speed. So shooting lower speed and less powder didn’t improve my barrel life. Contrarily, I had a smith make 3 Bartlein barrels at the same time 4 years ago for my match rifle. All of them had nodes in the same place, same headspace to within 1/2 thou, same lead length within 1/2 thou, but ONE of them shot ~120fps faster with the same load… AND where the other barrels failed at the common 1100-1200rnds, that barrel hung on to between 1400-1500 rounds before it started bleeding speed. Also contrarily, I have shot through handfuls of barrels in 223/5.56 using 27.3grn Varget under 50grn V-maxes (an over-book load) as a practice load for LR shooting as well as go-fast action shooting, and none of those barrels burned out any faster than my barrels which only ate “under book loads.”

Loading a slower/cooler burning powder: I fell for this one multiple times. I tried Retumbo and H1000 in 243win and 243AI, and tried H1000 in 6 Creed trying to pick up barrel life, but didn’t pick up any barrel life.

Not shooting hot: This changes the nature of use for the rifle, which isn’t always possible, AND it does change how long - chronologically - a barrel lives. But I haven’t had luck with this one either. At one point, I had two identical barrels going with flats on the muzzle to be able to change back and forth easily - I used one for practice, and shot slowly, while I used the other for matches. In theory, I hoped I would get more rounds from the slower shot barrel and be able to practice more than I competed, and have the barrels last about the same TIME. No such luck. Equally, I had a couple of 243win, 22-250, and 7-08 barrels which I used for hunting and pleasure plinking, NOT getting hot, and despite lasting for YEARS longer, the total round count when the barrels changed was still within the same range I expected for my higher rate barrels. I absolutely abused one of my 22-250s over pdog towns in Nebraska, I’d burn 300-500 rounds in a day of shooting a few times per summer, and those barrels didn’t really burn out with any less rounds than my coyote calling rifle which took a decade to cross over 2000 rounds… just less TIME. Neither my first 6 creed and my current 6 creed specialty pistol were shot fast and hot, but they burned out in the same number of rounds (throat’s moving at the same rate in my pistol, it ain’t dead yet).

Chasing lands: In theory, keeping the bullet the same jump should introduce the same and create the same primary ignition spike, but I haven’t been able to hang on past normal barrel life here. I’ve done much better just shooting very forgiving bullets - like the 105 Hybrid - which has produced phenomenal precision for me from 5 thou to 140 thou.

Setting back barrels: don’t be mislead into thinking setting back will mean you reset your barrel life round counter. I’ve largely given up in setting back barrels. I’ve seen a lot of guys talk about setting back and then getting HALF again the barrel life back, but in the few times I’ve done it, a guy needs to do that set back BEFORE the barrel really starts changing… so maybe if I set back a 6 creed barrel at 1000, not 1200, I’d get 600 more, totaling 1600. So then I pay an extra $250-300 for the setback job, meaning I have $900 total into 1600 rounds… but I can put $1200 into 2400 rounds… so the cost per barrel life is MORE if I set it back than if I simply replace it. At best, a break even on price, and I have to remove the barrel more often…

The ONLY way I have found to reliably make barrels last longer is to reduce the cartridge case size or increase bullet diameter - in both cases, meaning SHOOT A DIFFERENT CARTRIDGE AND TOLERATE LESSER PERFORMANCE.

What temperature was recorded in your barrel test data? EDIT : barrel temp, and how did you measure it?

 

[Varminterror]

What temperature was recorded in your barrel test data? EDIT : barrel temp, and how did you measure it?

You call coyotes 100 days per year and never shoot the barrel more than one or two rounds within a half hour or more… oh the things we can do with the hours of our lives before kids…

 

[Bcwitt]

You call coyotes 100 days per year and never shoot the barrel more than one or two rounds within a half hour or more… oh the things we can do with the hours of our lives before kids…

So you do not know? Edit -You said barrel temperature is not a factor. Any person with real experience would beg to differ.

 

[Varminterror]

So you do not know? Edit -You said barrel temperature is not a factor. Any person with real experience would beg to differ.

Pontificate if you like, I’ll not chase your absurdism.

You can keep a rifle cool by never firing a shot, and the barrel will never wear out.

You can fire one shot and the barrel will deviate from its ambient-balanced state. Most experts would agree that firing one shot doesn’t constitute “shooting a barrel hot.”

You can fire lots of shots in quick succession, such the barrel can become too hot to handle. Undeniably agree to be “shot hot.”

In doing BOTH of these ends of the spectrum with multiple rifles and having multiple barrels from these cartridges which were shot in the opposing mode, I have not experienced a realizable truth in “shooting hot wears barrels out faster.”

 

[starnbar]

I only can say that there is one barrel I have worn down enough to actually see the result in the barrel a used Browning BAR in 308 It now shoots only cast boolits and it still shoots good.

 

[Bcwitt]

Pontificate if you like, I’ll not chase your absurdism.

You can keep a rifle cool by never firing a shot, and the barrel will never wear out.

You can fire one shot and the barrel will deviate from its ambient-balanced state. Most experts would agree that firing one shot doesn’t constitute “shooting a barrel hot.”

You can fire lots of shots in quick succession, such the barrel can become too hot to handle. Undeniably agree to be “shot hot.”

In doing BOTH of these ends of the spectrum with multiple rifles and having multiple barrels from these cartridges which were shot in the opposing mode, I have not experienced a realizable truth in “shooting hot wears barrels out faster.”

I have experienced that they do. There is not a metal in existance that dose not wear @ a greater rate @ higher temperture. Most metalworking processes would not be possible if this were not so. Barrel life depends mostly on how it is used/abused.

 

[Varminterror]

I have experienced that they do. There is not a metal in existance that dose not wear @ a greater rate @ higher temperture. Most metalworking processes would not be possible if this were not so. Barrel life depends mostly on how it is used/abused.

And your curve relating throat erosion to temperature is published where?

 

[Anchorite]

Here’s a link to a formula that Bart Bobbit came up with once.

https://yarchive.net/gun/barrel/barrel_life.html


Good read.

 

[Bcwitt]

And your curve relating throat erosion to temperature is published where?

The US Navy did all of that. Not sure the specific text #. So did the Army.so did the Marines so did the Air force. Im not prepared to refute any of them. I suppose you are?

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I figure most hunting barrels will get 3-7 seconds of use before people consider replacing them and may last for 10-12 seconds, though likely with some degraded performance.

 

[Bcwitt]

I figure most hunting barrels will get 3-7 seconds of use before people consider replacing them and may last for 10-12 seconds, though likely with some degraded performance.

Well said.

 

[Varminterror]

243win isn’t making it to 3 seconds of service life, let alone 7, or 10-12. Not a chance.

 

[Picher]

WISHING !
I just came across about 300 of the 243 cases I had forgot about, less than 8 hours ago.
Can't remember which deal I got them with but believe me I have NEVER owned a 243.
In all the calibers I have now or have ever owned. I have loaded for it quite a bit but not mine and
I do admire it, yet it never crossed my desk as an option.
I can reload it to 1" at 100 yards when the stars align and only for a couple of young women that
use them for deer hunting.
The idea that they can be worn out for deer hunting is unlikely, but if I were to set one up for
the light bullets, or every week at the range, it would probably show some signs of wear but as
long as it would run 1.5" it would still be a good rifle.

 

[Picher]

Back when I was new to the gun-repair business in Maine, as a "favor" to friends who bought Charlies Log Cabin in Oakland, ME. and operated the sporting goods store, I saw lots of old guns, mostly Winchester "94s" that had been owned for many years and cleaned rarely. It was amazing to see all the fir "spills" and dirt inside the actions when I performed a strip/cleaning, probably for the first time "evah". I also replaced parts and sometimes upgraded sights, especially adding a receiver (peep) sight and new front bead. It was amazing how well the rifles had held up from such long-term "abusive" relationships.

 

[JimKirk]

I'd likely be using 100 grain soft points or, more likely, 80 grain TTSX. I'd probably be loading some middle of the road to fairly warm loads, nothing too hot.

I use the 80 grain TTSX in my .243 Win ... Barnes data ...Reloder 17 yields 3200 + fps in my 22" Model 700 BDL ... shoots less than .75" at 100 yards ...
I will say that combination has killed six large whitetail in the last two years ...including a 185 lbs eight point ...

I use the 80 grain TTSX in my .25/06 also .... that load claimed a 175 lbs seven point ...this year ....3680 fps out a 22" barrel ...

Both loads are deadly ...

I will replace both barrels when the time comes ....

 

[mljdeckard]

I recently built a AR-10 in .243 with a 1/8 barrel (X-Caliber) specifically to run heavy bullets (like 95-grain plus) at long range. (Like 1000 yards. I'm getting me and my wife into the long-range thing, figure it's an easy cartridge to start with.) I figure a little less velocity should give me longer barrel life, and when it burns up.....I'll just re-barrel it. Or build a 7mm-08. Or both. I finished it as the ammo panic hit, I put a couple of boxes of 100-gr Core-Lokts through it, I was getting about 1-1/4" off a sandbag with my shaky -over-excited hands.